It´s no secret that trying to play something more complex than a sidescroller on your phone can be nothing but frustrating. The touch screen simply wasn´t build to play games, but luckily, you can connect a gamepad to your android phone and play that way. Even your ps4 controller and the Dualesense work with phones!
So what´s the problem? The problem is that not all games work with gamepads; be they ps4 controllers or not. How can you know if the game you want has controller support?
The only surefire way to know is to download it and try it out. Sadly, there isn´t some sort of check or official designation for games that work with controllers.
Still, that doesn´t mean that there aren´t other ways to know. For starters, the solution might be a bit obvious. Try reading the description of the game you are about to download. If it says something about supporting controllers, then you are on the right track.
It´s possible that the publisher forgot to put that their game is compatible with controllers on the description, but is very unlikely. Game developers usually want to cram all their selling points into the description, and that includes controller support, usually.
Few games will outright say that they are specifically compatible with the Dualshock or Dualsense controller, but if the description mentions that the title works with gamepads or Bluetooth controllers, then it is likely that they detect your Playstation 4 controller as well.
If the developers put controller support in their game, they are not going to install a driver for every controller available in the store. Instead, they´ll make sure it works with the most popular gamepads, which are Sony´s controllers, at least when it comes to Android.
But this is still not a guarantee. The Android ecosystem is quite fragmented, there isn´t a uniting regulatory force like with Apple and the Made of iPhone program, for example. You might get the one developer who couldn't figure out how to add Dualshock support if you are very unlucky.
Another way to try and filter out which games use a controller is to simply look at the genre of the game. Sidescrollers, puzzle games, and the like would not benefit from a gamepad, so most of them don´t support one.
On the other hand, titles where you move a character in a 3D space are almost impossible to play without a gamepad, so most do support one. Shooters are the most prominent example, which is why games like Fortnite and Call of Duty allow you to play with a controller on mobile.
Now, this might seem a bit tedious, you might be wondering...
Is there a list of Android games that work with a ps4 controller?
Well, kind of. As we previously said, there isn´t a check or tag for which games support which controllers, so there isn´t an *official* list, but there is a fan-made one in the android wiki.
If you clicked that link, you´ll see that list is massive, but even so, it is not exhaustive of every game out there. That doesn´t mean it´s not a good place to check before you download a game.
If the task of finding your favorite title seems a bit daunting, remember that you can press Control+F on your keyboard and write the name of the game you want. If it´s on the list, your browser will find it.
And that´s it! Hopefully, this article has been helpful to you. If you want to know how to connect your ps4 controller to your android phone, then don´t forget to read our guide! If you want to take a look at other gamepads that work with Android, check out our list here!